Visit the Kerbol System

[superecnate]

In preparation for new planets (yes I saw the lengthy treads on those), instead of just talking theoretical, how about actually trying to get to certain distances from Kerbol... and returning.

Mercury: 57.9 million km

Venus: 108.2 million km

Mars: 227.9 million km

Jupiter: 778.3 million km

Saturn: 1,427.0 million km

Uranus: 2,871.0 million km

Neptune: 4,497.1 million km

If any of these can be done with the parts we have in the game (including the huge ones), then we know that they are possible.

Half credit if you can get there, but can't return.

2x credit if you can get into a circular orbit at that distance.

4x credit if you have enough fuel left to have successfully made a landing and returned.

[trekkie_]

you mean like this?

it's a transit orbit, so I pass through kerbin orbit on the periapsis. I think that deserves some extra credit although, out of fuel so can't land, no parachutes so can't land, and it would probably take a million years to actually catch up with kerbin itself since it is almost always in a different area of its orbit when I intersect its orbit boundary. only use for such a circumstance would be deep space matter collection and drop off or deep space photography/mapping. since it's an elliptical orbit, depending on where other planetary bodies would be in their orbit, I could get pretty close or intersect with, anything at or below its distance....eventually.

also...

but I think we will need more than stock parts (better new parts) if there are deep space additions to the game, because the fuel required to make maneuvers in deep space would make it nearly impossible to get such a craft off the ground and have enough fuel left for large space travels -- it'd be too heavy and use too much fuel. circularizing such large orbits would take a lot of fuel. not to mention landing, or taking off, or recircularizing for return.

Edited August 7, 2012 by trekkie_

[Tigga]

but I think we will need more than stock parts (better new parts) if there are deep space additions to the game

Not so. We just need a way of either transferring fuel between craft, or docking craft to make one larger craft. Assembly in orbit. AFAIK most planes for RL interplanetary manned missions require some sort of docking manoeuvre for fuel/supplies.

[sal_vager]

Not so. We just need a way of either transferring fuel between craft, or docking craft to make one larger craft. Assembly in orbit. AFAIK most planes for RL interplanetary manned missions require some sort of docking manoeuvre for fuel/supplies.

How about Kerbals with jerry cans when they EVA? It might take a few trips though

[maltesh]

Reaching all the targets seem pretty fairly doable in KSP, even without triggering the fuel bug.

The hardest circularization target from Kerbin's 13 million km orbit would be the Venus sized orbit, assuming a Hohmann transfer.

It should be noted that a Hohmann trasfer to the Neptune orbit will take more than a day on 100,000x speed.

Enough fuel to land and return, aye, that'd be quite tricky without fuel or personell transfer.

[Kosmo-not]

I've went out to 40.5 Gm (3x Kerbin's orbit). That was just to confirm my math was correct. I circularized and returned with no trouble.

[BlazingAngel665]

Great challenge, however. . . SPACE KRACKEN EATING MY FACE!!!!!!!! My retrograde burn was neigh impossible as the kracken was spinning me in all directions. Short bursts were eventually enough to point me homeward. . . amen for time warp! I used the small parts and could easily boost 6+ fuel tanks into high Kerbol Orbit, landing might be finiky, returning more so as the gas is left in an orbital stage with MechJeb and a claw to facilitate "docking" and then still allow me to fire the engines post decoupling. The orbit I simulatedly reached was Mars, and convieniently enought I was planning on using rovers next time around to "simmulate a mission, I really hope we don't break our saves (or .craft) for .17 as I am all ready to fly. . . err. . . boldly go! With explosions!

[SunJumper]

I managed to reach 400million km, and circularise from there. I also managed to get one object in a 500m kilometer by 1.3b kilometer orbit.

[dalgo86]

Ok with vanilla parts, I getched mars orbit 22,790,000 km (real orbit / 10 )

I accelerates to kerbal escape, nearly collided with the moon, I just lucky because my apoapsis after escape was 20Mkm.

I think that 84L I can't back, but I think with mars gravity and using the correct position of kerbal to launch, is possible with this ship go and back.

I'm sorry for my english.

[dalgo86]

I reach Mars orbit, 22.970.000 Km, but I can't post images...

https://www.dropbox.com/s/5ekbtoujyvzu0rx/InSpace.png

https://www.dropbox.com/s/9phyrh83gnv0qo1/OrbitView.png

https://www.dropbox.com/s/3bwwa48e8pm9z0o/Takeoff.png

[superecnate]

You can totally use mods, as long as they are not breaking the game (increasing fuel, etc). Things like mechjeb, and using the claws to dock are acceptable, and, in fact, recommended if practical; especially mods that allow docking of any sort.

For example, using mechjeb you get a lander on top of your main, space stage. You can use the space stage to get you to a hypothetical mars, run out of fuel, and use your lander to return. This would show off a transfer without landing, and return.

This challenge is to turn mathematical delta-v calculations into an actual mission.

[Rage Baneblade]

Your challenge is the same as mine:

Run a fully calculated mission with a delta-v budget, burn times/directions, transfers, and landing without usage of the map screen or mods that show a ship's orbit.

Better warm up my calculator, i guess.

[maltesh]

So yeah, gave it a shot.

Basic asparagus-staged setup, with a nova punch 2M RCS tank that I wound up mostly ignoring.

Went for an orbital radius that isn't on the chart, either; 150 million km or 1 AU, and circularized.

I then ran the numbers to try to figure out where Kerbin would need to be for me to burn for a return. T THe result I got was that Kerbin needed to be about 29 degrees ahead of my current position, so I eyeballed it, and burned to Hohmann back down.

One Kerbin year out, I knew I had a problem. Kerbin was at my Periapsis, but it would get there about eight days before my spacecraft did.

What I should have done at that point was to speed up (pushing out my periapsis and apoapsis), then burn in the Radial- direction (pulling in my periapsis back onto Kerbin's orbit) to bring the intercept time down to one Kerbin Period. I did not do this thing.

As a result, Keerbin got to my periapsis eight days before my spacecraft, and I was Krakening too violently to try to circularize on an inside track. Neverthelless, transfer time was about 700 days, and I was eyeballing it without being able to veiw my orbit from directly above Kerbol. Missing by eight days is pretty good in my book.